Should you buy an iPhone now or wait for the iPhone 16?

Believe it or not, we’re just two months away from the expected launch of the iPhone 16 lineup. This year, we expect the iPhone 16 lineup to offer new camera upgrades, bigger screens, faster performance, and more.

Should you buy an iPhone now or wait for the iPhone 16? Here’s everything to keep in mind.

When will the iPhone 16 be announced?

It may seem like the iPhone 15 was just introduced yesterday, but time marches on. The iPhone 16 is currently expected to be announced at the beginning of September. Here’s a recap of iPhone event days for the last several years:

• iPhone 15 Event: September 12, 2023
• iPhone 14 Event: September 7, 2022
• iPhone 13 Event: September 14, 2021
• iPhone 12 Event: October 13, 2020
• iPhone 11 Event: September 10, 2019
• iPhone XS Event: September 12, 2018

Based on this history, I’d expect the iPhone 16 event to be held on Tuesday, September 10. iPhone 16 pre-orders would then begin on September 13, with a release on September 20.

The iPhone 16 lineup

Following the introduction of the iPhone 16, Apple will likely discontinue the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 13. This means the iPhone lineup will look as follows:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus

The Apple Intelligence elephant in the room

At WWDC 2024, Apple announced Apple Intelligence, its suite of artificial intelligence features that will begin rolling out later this year. Apple Intelligence includes features such as a more powerful Siri, Genmoji, Image Playgrounds, ChatGPT integration, and more.

Apple Intelligence features, however, will only be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later. This means the iPhone 15 will not support Apple Intelligence.

The entire iPhone 16 lineup is expected to use the A18 chip inside and add additional RAM. This means it’s likely both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups will support Apple Intelligence, unlike the current bifurcation among the iPhone 15 lineups.

Buy now or wait?

Every summer, 9to5Mac receives a wave of questions from readers about whether to buy the previous year’s iPhone model or wait for Apple’s new release. Even if you’re not interested in the latest iPhone’s features, the advice remains the same: wait.

Waiting for the iPhone 16’s release, even if you ultimately decide on an older model, is beneficial. After the iPhone 16 launch, older iPhones — both from Apple and third-party sellers — will drop in price. August is consistently the worst month to purchase a new iPhone, regardless of whether you opt for the latest version or not.

The fact that the iPhone 15 does not support Apple Intelligence makes it even harder to recommend right now. Apple has made it clear that Apple Intelligence will play a big role in the future of the iPhone, so it’s not a great idea to buy a phone that can’t take advantage of those features right now.

The exception to this advice is if you absolutely need a phone right now. Maybe your old one broke, and you need something today. In that case, the iPhone 15 Pro is a great choice.

Do you plan on upgrading to the iPhone 16 this fall? Let us know in the comments!

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